thursday 25, 8.45pm
acmi cinema 1
#1 indie studio
wrap up
> see program
saturday 27, 8.15pm
acmi cinema 1
#2 the films that
made a difference
> see program
Admission age: 18+
London is one of the true wellsprings of original
ideas. It is home to some very special independent animation studios
like Slinky Pics, Picasso, Passion Pictures, Sherbet and Nexus.
We sat down with these studios to glimpse into that bubbling cauldron
of auteur and commercial animating creativity and we came up with
these two programs.
Also see:
Studio Focus: The Mill
Channel
4 (UK) - 25th Anniversary Classics Showcase |
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tuesday 23 8.45pm
acmi cinema 1
#1 indie studio
wrap up
The beat goes on! Fantastic new films continue pouring
out of London and this program looks at some of the best recent
releases – an engrossing up to date snapshot from one of the
animating capitals of the world.
The highlights of this 70 minute collection will
include Marc Craste’s amazing “Varmints”, the
utterly charming “Taller Than Trees” by Slinky Pics
latest sign-up Joseph Man, the John Malkovich penned “Snow
Angel” by Sherbet’s Laurie J. Proud and some beautifully
hand drawn new work’s by Sherbet’s Jonathan Hodgeson. |
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Come
Rain Or Shine
Lucy Izzard, 2007, 3’00
Oscar Wilde once said “everybody
complains about it but nobody does anything about it”. A whimsical
look at the British pre-occupation with the weather. The latest
film by one of the mainstay talents in the Slinky Pics stable.
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Taller Than
Trees
Joseph Mann, 2008, 3’00
A deceptively simple style in which ‘re-animated’
cut-out photos provide the moving action is a beautifully crafted
school fete panorama. The latest exciting new talent to be signed
by Slinky Pics.
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BBC iPlayer “Penguins”
Vince Squibb, Darren Walsh, 2008, 1’00
This colony of recently discovered penguins possess one very special
quality that none of the cousins have – access to digital
animators. (Passion Pictures) |
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Audi Q5 “Unboxed”
Aaron Duffy, Russell Brooke, 2008, 1’00
A visually arresting journey from flatpack to
gleaming precision machinery in 60 seconds. (Passion Pictures) |
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Compare the Market
‘’Aleks’’
Darren
Walsh, 2008, 1’00
Good advice
but how to do present it in a way that makes everyone sit up and take
notice, that’s the real question here. (Passion Pictures) |
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Snow Angel
Laurie J. Proud, 2008, 5’00
An
enigmatic story based on a script partly written by John Malkovich
following a little girl exploring the serial delights of a snowstorm
and the unfurling oddness of an old house. (Sherbet) |
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Alko “Mother
And Daughter”
Jonathan Hodgson,
2008, 1’00
Alko “Father
And Son”
Jonathan Hodgson, 2008,
1’00
Two ads subtlety reflecting
on how drinking alcohol and the behaviour that can result from it,
might affect young children depicted using Hodgson’s classic
sensitive and organic line drawing style. (Sherbet) |
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This Way Up (Trailer)
Smith & Foulkes, 2008, 1’00
A short, snappy trailer for the hilarious tale
of undertaker misconduct which is screening in full in Competition
and in the SIGGRAPH Asia 2008 Highlights program.
(Nexus) |
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Damaged Goods
Barnaby Barford, 2009, 9’30
A classic boy meets girl tale exquisitely animated
in stop-motion using an all ceramic cast. (Nexus) |
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Watermelon Love
Woof Wan-Bau, 2008, 3’00
Nexus
joined forces with Channel 4 and the ‘MESH’ funding program
to support this production from one of the UK’s most exciting
up and coming animators. (Nexus) |
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En Tus Brazos
FX & Matt, 2008, 5’15
Escher
meets Busby Berkeley and promptly trips the Light 3D Fantastic. |
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Taking Liberties
“History Of ID”
Simon
Robson, 2008, 1’00
Stunning motion
graphics avalanche that inserted some eye-popping style into an indie
feature about our diminishing social freedoms. (Nexus) |
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Honda “Grrr”
Smith And Foulkes, 2005, 1’00
A psychodelic, all whistling, airborne swirl through
the garden exalting the virtues of a silent diesel engine. (Nexus) |
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Nomis “Damn
Boots”
Woof Wan-Bau, 2007, 2’15
There’s boots – and there’s
BOOTS. It’s just amazing how many things are connected to the
BOOTS. (Nexus) |
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Department For
Transport
Smith & Foulkes, 2008,
1’00
A beautifully designed but
none the less stark reminder of the obvious dangers of crossing the
street without looking. A public service announcement that pulls no
punches. (Nexus) |
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Motorola “Grand
Classics”
Smith & Foulkes,
2006, 1’30
Ninety seconds of
‘I-don’t-want-it-to-end’ ingeniously linked visual
bites from the greatest movies – rabbit style! (Nexus) |
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The Seed
Johnny Kelly, 2009, 2’00
The
maker of “Procrastination” comes this non-stop, rolling,
twist ‘n’ turning gallop following the cycle of the seed.
(Nexus) |
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Varmints
Marc Craste, 2008, 22’00
From
the studio and the filmmaker who gave us “JoJo In The Stars”
comes an epic story of one little creature’s effort to save
a world about to be lost forever through recklessness and neglect.
(Studio AKA) |
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saturday 27 8.15pm
acmi cinema 1
#2 the films that
made a difference
Each of the London studios has produced special works
that have defined each of them and built the careers of the animators
who have walked through their doors.
This incredibly rich vein of animated film is a great
excuse for us to bring together some of our all-time favourite films.
You’ll see Phil Hunt’s “Ah Pook Is Here”
complete with the voice of William Burroughs and the music of John
Cale, “Jo Jo In The Stars” by Marc Craste which fuelled
a decade of creativity at Studio AKA, the incomparable “The
Man With The Beautiful Eyes” by Jonathan Hodgeson, Piet Kroon’s
gorgeously drawn, art deco overload “T.R.A.N.S.I.T.”
and some of the best films from the master animators such as Chris
Shepherd & Leigh Hodgkinson that have called Slinky Pics home
over the years.
One film waiting to be confirmed – check back
here regularly for updates or follow us on twitter/animationfest
and we’ll let you know the minute we’ve secured it! |
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Ah Pook Is Here
Phil Hunt, 1994, 6’00
One of MIAF’s all-time favourite
films!! Featuring narration by William Burrough’s and music
by John Cale, a disturbingly organic-looking figure speaks to us
of life, politics and death as the symbol of the common man toiling
away in his cave. (Studio AKA)
|
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JoJo In The
Stars
Marc Craste, 2004, 13’00
The classic film which rapidly positioned Studio
AKA as a creative animation house to watch. A story of love, self-sacrifice
and jealously played out against a black and white world that is
both nightmarish and hauntingly beautiful. (Studio AKA) |
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Man With The Beautiful Eyes
Jonathan Hodges, 1999, 5’00
A simply stunning animated adaptation
of an acidic Charles Bukowski poem tracing the fascination some
neighbourhood kids have with a house occupied by a seldom seen,
seldom heard force. (Sherbet) |
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T.R.A.N.S.I.T.
Piet Kroon, 1999, 10’00
T.R.A.N.S.I.T.
presents a classic 1920's love tragedy as a puzzle for the audience
to unravel. Drawn in sumptuous art deco style and deeply evoactaive
of a different age, this film drew wows from audiences everywhere
when it was released. (Illuminated Films) |
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Coldplay “Don’t
Panic”
Tim Hope, 2001, 3’30
The classic music video animated in Hope’s
distinctive 2D cut-out style proved to be important steps forward
for Hope, the studio and the band’s TV presence. (Passion Pictures) |
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Gorillaz “Dirty
Harry”
Jamie Hewlett, Pete Candeland,
2005, 3’30
The animated rock
band ‘Gorillaz’ were a phenomena melding music and comic
design aesthetic with the growing on-line community of people looking
to communicate and share their passions outside mainstream media.
(Passion Pictures) |
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City Paradise
Gaelle Denis
London
can be an unnerving city when you're from out of town. One of the
most screened and awarded British films of all times. (Passion Pictures) |
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Dad’s Dead
Chris Shepherd, 2003, 7’00
An
utterly compelling, often repelling, reminescence of youthful frienship
tinged with the swaggering evil of Johnno. (Slinky Pics) |
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Who I Am And What
I Want
Chris Shepherd, David Shrigley,
2005, 7’30
An enormously engaging
blends of Chris Shepherd’s animating prowess and cartoonist
David Shrigley’s edgy, crude drawing style showcasing the (very)
random thoughts of a man happily living alone in the forest. (Slinky
Pics) |
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Moo(n)
Leigh Hodgkinson, 2003, 3’30
The little girl with the cold, the cow on the
moon, a tale of delightful, pure whimsy. (Slinky Pics) |
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